INTERESTING EXTRACTS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1407, 15 November 1886, Page 2

INTERESTING EXTRACTS.

SHIP-BUILDING ON THE OL^DK. Ship-building o ! tbe Clyde la steadily declining. For six months this year tbe shipping launched has been only 84,622 tons, while for the same time in 1883 It was 191729 ton' ; in 1884, 142,986 tons, and last yeir, 93,925 tons.

THE AUDUBON SOCIETY,

The ol j -o* of the Andubon Society for the Protection of Birds which has just been incoruorated in New York, Is to protect birdr not used for food from destruction. The A heiuenm says this Is to to be attempted by every possible method but (specially attenti m will be directed to the enormous destruction of birds for ornamental purposes

BISMARCK’S BUTTONS.

An American girl at Gastein recently stoppei Bismarck on the street and asked him for a button from his coat, as a sou? venir. The economical Chancellor replied that he had just enough buttons to hold his clothes together, and the diffident Re? publican damsel had toba content with the knowledge that the had talked with the autocrat.

A MASSACHUSETTS MONSTER,

While tbe sea serpent is disporting about the coast of Massachusetts, a gigantic land serpent id creating havoc in the interior. The snake is ravaging the herds of live stock near Clinton. Es imates of* Mq length vary from iwenty-five to forty.five feet, and bis girth is varlonsly stated from the siz 1 of a two-gallon jag to that of a barrel, although some deny that he is larger than a dem'j ohn.

EXCITING SCENE IN A MENAGERIE An exciting scene occurred at' a menagerie at Vigen, Fracca, lately. Captain Henri, a well-known animal tamer, was performing with a bear, when the animal savagely attacked him a- d hugged him, A desperate fight was made by the tame* who, in the end, obtained bis freedom, although severely bruised and torn. The audience was greatly excited ’by the struggle, and m«ny persons sus'qined injuries in the panic-stricken rml} for t]?o doors.

ALLEGED SB A SIBERIAN, . DISCoVE ‘Y.

Mr Tanatias Donnelly, of Hastings, Minne-ota, in a private note to a friend, states that the M S of h s work on tbe cipher will be placed in the printer's hands in a month. He claims to have dbcovared a evoher-key to the plays of Bbakspere, which reveals a whole world of mysterious meaning underlying the plain text. Bis key shows, among other things, that the plays contain a secret history of their authorship and the chief events of the reign of Elizabeth

TBE QUEEN OF PORTUGAL.

The Qaee" of Portugal wears the Paris life saver’s medal. In 1874 she was bathing with her two sons, Charles and Alphonse, age 11 and 9 years, at the watering places of Carcases. A hlg wave carried off the two children, and the Qaeeu boldly swam out Lo their relief. Tbe sea was running b'gh, and the lady and her boys were nearly lost in the surf, when the lighthouse-keeper, eeeing'thelr danger; dashed into the water and succeeded in bringing all three to shore in safety. Her Msjesty wears her medal proudly as the reward of her bravery ; but there is no record of any med*l nr any other reward having been given to the lighthouse man.

THE PORTS op THE UNITED KINGDOM.

In 1875 Liverpool was the lesdingpori of the United Kingdom, a position which ia now occupied by Lordon, for last year the tonnage which cleared with oafgoes'Ot in ballast to foreign porta aod British possesions from London was 6,146,482 tons. Liverpool came nut, and then Cardiff which in ten years has more than doubled it» toensge, Newcastle on Tyne was fourth followed by Giaeoow, Hull, Newport (Monmou’hshire), Sunderland, SiuthamptoD, and Swansea. The port* which ire increasing- most rapidly ard Cardiff , Newport, and Glasgow. "JiTety few of our readers would for a moment ahppose that Bopth Wales ha 3 three p|uxi m leading ten ports of'Hrlteta, 1 ■